Facsimile device and program product for facsimile printing

ABSTRACT

It is intended to provide a facsimile device and a program product for facsimile printing capable of surely making a user know receipt of an irregular e-mail such as an error mail or the like, without requiring extra volume of memory, while preventing waste of paper. When an e-mail is received, there is detected whether a printing mode is set or a not-printing mode is set for a body part of an e-mail in # 2.  Even though a not-printing mode is set for a body part of an e-mail (# 2:  No), the body part is printed in # 8  in case the e-mail is not accompanied by an attached file of predetermined format (# 5:  No). Therefore, even if a not-printing mode is set, the facsimile device can make a user know receipts of irregular mails such as an error mail, an e-mail without an attached file of predetermined format, and rough causes of the irregular mails.

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/641,018, filed Aug. 15, 2003, which claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-87975,filed Mar. 27, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a facsimile device which can receivedocuments via internet and more particularly to a facsimile device and aprogram product for facsimile printing which surely make a userrecognize that an irregular e-mail such as an error mail or the like isreceived, while preventing waste of paper.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, internet-facsimile devices which exchange documents viainternet have begun to be popular, so as to reduce communication costs.In case of facsimile communication via internet like this, data istransmitted in a style of an e-mail. This is because a receiver is notalways an internet-facsimile device, otherwise a personal computer and aportable terminal and the like can be a receiver. Accordingly,transmitted data includes a mail header, a text of the mail and thelike, as its part. An image data of a document to be transmitted isadded as its attached file. Accordingly, when an internet-facsimiledevice receives such data, body parts including mail header and a textof the mail as well as an image data obtained by opening an attachedfile are printed in general. As a matter of course, the latter is anessential document for a facsimile transmittal.

By the way, the above-mentioned printing of body parts is actually oflittle use as information for a receiver, since it is just a fixed formof sentence. Therefore, some internet-facsimile devices can be set notto print body parts, so as to prevent waste of paper.

However, such setting can cause a following drawback. That is, when amessage is transmitted from an internet-facsimile device, a transmissionerror can take place due to failure in address indication, over volume,or the like. In this case, an error mail is returned from the server ofreceiver's side. Depending on a server, there is a case the error mailincludes just body parts without an attached file. Information such astransmitted time, address, cause of error, and the like is described inthe body parts of the returned mail. However, in case it is set not toprint body parts, nothing is printed even though it receives an errormail. Received error mail will be deleted sooner or later. It means atransmission error is kept unknown to a user.

As an internet-facsimile device for preventing the above-mentionedsituation, there is an image-data communication device described inEP0923034. Comparing a received e-mail with transmitted e-mails, theimage-data communication device judges whether a received mail is anerror mail or not. In case it is an error mail, necessary information isextracted, edited and finally printed.

However, in the image-data communication device described in EP0923034,a transmitted e-mail needs being saved for a while in case an e-mailgoes out via facsimile transmission. Therefore, extra memory volume isrequired. Furthermore, such process does not work in case that an errormail is received after transmitted e-mails are deleted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems includedin prior art. The present invention is to provide a facsimile device anda program product for facsimile printing capable of surely informing auser of receipt of irregular e-mail such as an error mail or the like,without requiring extra volume of memory, while preventing waste ofpaper.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided afacsimile device comprising: an e-mail receiving unit that receives ane-mail addressed to an e-mail account allocated to the facsimile device;an attached-file discriminating unit that discriminates whether or notan e-mail that the facsimile device has received is accompanied by anattached file; a normal print determining unit that determines to printcontents of an attached file without printing a body part of an e-mailin case the attached-file discriminating unit discriminates that thee-mail is accompanied by an attached file; and an error printdetermining unit that determines to print a body part of the e-mail incase the attached-file discriminating unit discriminates that the e-mailis not accompanied by an attached file.

In the facsimile device directed to the aspect of the present invention,the e-mail receiving unit receives an e-mail addressed to an e-mailaccount allocated to the facsimile device itself. When an e-mail isreceived, the attached-file discriminating unit discriminates whether ornot the e-mail is accompanied by an attached file. In case theattached-file discriminating unit discriminates that the e-mail isaccompanied by an attached file, the normal print determining unitdetermines to print contents of an attached file without printing a bodypart of the e-mail. In case the attached-file discriminating unitdiscriminates that the e-mail is not accompanied by an attached file,the error print determining unit determines to print a body part of thee-mail.

An e-mail transmitted out as a normal internet facsimile communicationmust be accompanied by an attached file. Accordingly, in case thefacsimile device has received an e-mail with an attached file, thenormal print determining unit determines not to print out the body partof the e-mail and only the contents of the attached file are printed.That is, an unnecessary part such as the body part of the e-mail is notprinted. Thereby, waste of paper is avoided. In case an irregular mailsuch as an error mail and the like is received, the irregular mail maybe not accompanied by an attached file. Accordingly, in case anirregular mail without an attached file is received, the error printdetermining unit determines to print the body part of the irregularmail. Subsequently, contents of the body part are printed. Thereby, auser can recognize the fact of the transmission error. In this case, itis not necessary for the facsimile device to save a transmitted mail.Accordingly, excessive volume of memory is not required for thefacsimile device. Furthermore, even if an error mail reaches thefacsimile device after the corresponding transmitted mail is deleted, itis no problem at all.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda facsimile device comprising: an e-mail receiving unit that receives ane-mail addressed to an e-mail account allocated to the facsimile device;a body-part-print setting unit that sets to print/not to print a bodypart of an e-mail that the facsimile device has received; anattached-file discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not ane-mail that the facsimile device has received is accompanied by anattached file; a normal print determining unit that determines whetheror not to print a body part of the e-mail based on setting by thebody-part-print setting unit and determines to print contents of anattached file in case the attached-file discriminating unitdiscriminates that the e-mail is accompanied by an attached file; and abody-part-print determining unit that determines to print a body part ofthe e-mail regardless of setting by the body-part-print setting unit incase the attached-file discriminating unit discriminates that the e-mailis not accompanied by an attached file.

In this aspect of the present invention, the body-part-print settingunit sets to print/not to print a body part of an e-mail that thefacsimile device has received. Accordingly, setting by thebody-part-print setting unit basically determines to print/not to printa body part of an e-mail. In case the attached-file discriminating unitdiscriminates that the received e-mail is accompanied by an attachedfile, the body part of the e-mail is printed. That is, the normal printdetermining unit determines to print contents of the attached file andalso determines whether or not to print the body part of the e-mail inaccordance with setting by the body-part-print setting unit. However, incase the attached-file discriminating unit discriminates that the e-mailis not accompanied by an attached file, different from basic processing,the body-part-print determining unit determines to print the body partof the e-mail regardless of setting by the body-part-print setting unit.Thereby, the facsimile device can surely make a user know receipt of anirregular mail such as an error mail without an attached file.

It is preferable that, in the inventive facsimile device, theattached-file discriminating unit discriminates that an e-mail isaccompanied by an attached file only when an e-mail that the facsimiledevice has received is accompanied by an attached file of predeterminedfacsimile document format. Thereby, even if the received e-mail isaccompanied by an attached file, the e-mail is handled as an e-mailwithout an attached file as long as the attached file is not inpredetermined facsimile document format. In case the facsimile device isan internet facsimile device, it can possibly receive an e-mailtransmitted from a personal computer. An e-mail from a personal computercan possibly be accompanied by an attached file format of which differsfrom predetermined facsimile document format such as document file orthe like. However, such an e-mail is not what is essentially received bya facsimile device. Therefore, such a treatment manner of attached filesis preferable.

The one aspect of the present invention is of course applicable to aprogram product for facsimile printing being installed in a computer ofa facsimile device that receives an e-mail addressed to an e-mailaccount allocated to the facsimile device, the program productcomprising: a computer readable medium; and a computer program stored onthe computer readable medium, the computer program for performing thesteps of: discriminating whether or not an e-mail that the facsimiledevice has received is accompanied by an attached file; determining toprint contents of an attached file without printing a body part of ane-mail in case the e-mail is discriminated as accompanied by an attachedfile; and determining to print a body part of an e-mail in case thee-mail is discriminated as not accompanied by an attached file.

The another aspect of the present invention is of course applicable to aprogram product for facsimile printing being installed in a computer ofa facsimile device that receives an e-mail addressed to an e-mailaccount allocated to the facsimile device, the program productcomprising: a computer readable medium; and a computer program stored onthe computer readable medium, the computer program for performing thesteps of: setting to print/not to print a body part of an e-mail thatthe facsimile device has received; discriminating whether or not ane-mail that the facsimile device has received is accompanied by anattached file; determining whether or not to print a body part of ane-mail based on previous print/not print setting and determining toprint contents of an attached file in case the e-mail is discriminatedas accompanied by an attached file; and determining to print a body partof an e-mail regardless of previous print/not print setting in case thee-mail is discriminated as not accompanied by an attached file.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention willmore fully appear from the following detailed description when the sameis read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the following detailed description of the invention, just inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an appearance of a facsimile device directed to anembodiment;

FIG. 2A shows an internet connection manner of the facsimile device ofthe embodiment;

FIG. 2B shows another internet connection manner of the facsimile deviceof the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an operation panel directed to the facsimiledevice of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing schematic structure of the facsimiledevice of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a display to set a printing mode;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating mail-receipt operation in thefacsimile device of the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another example of mail-receiptoperation in the facsimile device of the embodiment; and

FIG. 8 shows an example of a print-out obtained when an error mail isreceived.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a facsimile device according to this embodimentcomprises a document feeder tray 1, a document ejector tray 2, arecording paper ejector tray 3, a recording paper supplier tray 4, anoperation panel 5, an external memory insert slot 6, an external memoryejector button 61, and the like. The document feeder tray 1 is a placefor loading documents to be faxed. Documents loaded thereon are suppliedone by one for read. The document ejector tray 2 is to stock documentsejected after read. The recording paper ejector tray 3 is to stocksheets of recording paper on which in-coming contents are printed. Therecording paper supplier tray 4 is to supply sheets of recording paperon which in-coming contents will be printed. The operation panel 5 is aplace where buttons for a user to operate this facsimile device, and thelike are placed. The external memory insert slot 6 is an insertion placefor external memories such as a floppy disc, optical/magnetic disc, andthe like. The external memory ejector button 61 is a button for ejectingan external memory inserted in the inside of the external memory insertslot 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the facsimile device according to this embodiment isconnected to internet. FIG. 2A shows a situation such that a facsimiledevice for Company A and a facsimile device for Company B are connectedto internet via their respective private lines. An e-mail address of thefacsimile device in Company A is nagata@a.co.jp. An e-mail address ofthe facsimile device in Company B is maruyama@b.co.jp. FIG. 2B shows asituation such that a facsimile device for Company A is connected tointernet via a telephone line and a provider, and a facsimile device forCompany B is connected to internet via a private line. An e-mail addressof the facsimile device in Company A is nagata@a.or.jp. An e-mailaddress of the facsimile device in Company B is yamauchi@b.co.jp

The operation panel 5 of the facsimile device according to thisembodiment is constituted as shown in FIG. 3, a top view. The operationpanel 5 comprises a plurality of one-touch dialing keys 52, a display53, a cursor key 54, a Yes key 55, a log-on key 56, a function key 57,and the like. The one-touch dialing keys 52 are keys for registeringe-mail addresses of receivers. The display 53 is a screen on whichvarious kinds of indications necessary to operate and set the facsimiledevice, such as an indication of a binary file name are displayed. Thecursor key 54 is a key for moving a cursor displayed on the display 53.The Yes key 55 is a key for responding to a message displayed in thedisplay 53. The log-on key 56 is a key for logging on to Internet. Thefunction key 57 is a key for pursuing and setting various kinds offunctions.

The facsimile device according to this embodiment is constituted asshown in block diagram of FIG. 4, in general. That is, this facsimiledevice comprises a central control section 31, a reading section 32, amemory section 34, a printing section 35, and a communication controlsection 36, other than the operation panel 5. The central controlsection 31 is a block for controlling the entirety of the facsimiledevice. The reading section 32 is a section for reading image data ofdocuments supplied sheet by sheet from the document feeder tray 1. Thememory section 34 is a block for recording a control program, varioussetting values for controlling, received data, and the like. Theprinting section 35 is a section for printing received image data onsheets of recording paper. The communication control section 36 is asection for exchanging e-mails by way of connection with internet. Anexternal memory 33 inserted in the inside of the external memory insertslot 6, stores decoded binary data and the like.

Facsimile transmission by way of the facsimile device according to thisembodiment is prosecuted as following. That is, an image of a documentsupplied one by one from the document feeder tray 1 is read at thereading section 32. Image data read there is converted to a file ofpredetermined facsimile document format (TIFF format, pict format, andthe like), and stored in the memory section 34 in a form of theabove-mentioned file format. And an e-mail with the file as an attachedfile is sent out to internet, forwarding to an e-mail address of areceiver.

In the facsimile device according to this embodiment, when an e-mail isreceived, the communication control section 36 makes access to a mailserver on which its mail account is registered for checking if there isan e-mail addressed to its e-mail account. In case there is an e-mailaddressed to its account, the e-mail is downloaded to the memory section34 from the mail server. This processing is conducted in a predeterminedcycle set in advance. The cycle is able to be adjusted by a user, andthe processing is also conducted when a user pushes the log-on key 56.

The facsimile device according to this embodiment has both a printingmode and not-printing mode so as to print/not to print a body part of ane-mail (mail header and a text part, and the like) when an e-mail isreceived as facsimile transmission. A user can select and set to one ofthe modes. For the setting, the function key 57 is continuously pushedto display contents shown in FIG. 5 in the display 53. With the displayas shown in FIG. 5, a user elects “print” or “not print” using thecursor key 54, and pushes the Yes key 55 for confirming the election.This election is overwritten on the last election and saved.

Next, there will be explained a processing performed in the facsimiledevice according to this embodiment when an e-mail is received referringto a flow chart of FIG. 6. In this processing, whether an e-mail isreceived or not is judged at first (#1). In case that no e-mail isreceived (#1: No), it ends the processing promptly.

In case there is received an e-mail (#1: Yes), processing goes on to #2to judge whether a printing mode to print a body part of an e-mail isselected or not (#2). That is, there is checked contents set on displayas shown in FIG. 5. In case a mode is set to print a body part (#2:Yes), processing goes on to #3 to judge whether a received e-mail isaccompanied by an attached file or not (#3). In this processing, “Yes”judgment is made, only when an e-mail is accompanied by an attached filein the above-mentioned facsimile document format.

In case a received e-mail is accompanied by an attached file infacsimile document format (#3: Yes), the e-mail is considered to betransmitted as a facsimile communication. Therefore, a body part isprinted (#4), an image of the attached file is opened (#6), and theopened image is printed (#7). Since a mode is set to a “printing” modeon display as shown in FIG. 5, a body part is printed. The attached fileis decoded in binary data and recorded in an external memory 33.

In #3, in case an attached file in facsimile document format does notaccompany a received e-mail (#3: No), the e-mail is considered to betransmitted as a non-normal facsimile communication. For example, it canbe considered a facsimile communication once transmitted but sent backfrom a receiver' s server as an error mail, or a communication sent tothe facsimile device as a normal e-mail erroneously. Especially in theformer case, usually, an e-mail does not include any attached files butcontains error information appearing in a text portion of a body part.Accordingly, a body part is printed (#8). Thereby, a user can recognizethe fact that there is received an unusual e-mail. Particularly, in casethe e-mail is an error mail, contents as shown in FIG. 8 is printed.Thereby, a user can understand a facsimile communication which he hastransmitted is undelivered. And the processing terminates.

In #2, in case a mode is set not to print a body part (#2: No),processing goes on to #5 to judge whether a received e-mail isaccompanied by an attached file or not (#5). Similar to theabove-mentioned case of #3, “Yes” judgment is made in this processing,only when an e-mail is accompanied by an attached file in facsimiledocument format.

In case a received e-mail is accompanied by an attached file in theabove-mentioned format (#5: Yes), the e-mail is considered to be sent asa facsimile communication. Therefore, an image of the attached file isopened (#6), and printed without printing of a body part (#7). Since amode is set to “not-printing” mode on display as shown in FIG. 5, a bodypart is not printed. Thereby, a user can avoid wasting paper forprinting unnecessary information. And the processing terminates.

In #5, in case a received e-mail is not accompanied by an attached filein the above-mentioned format (#5: No), similar to the case #3: No, thee-mail is considered not to be transmitted as a normal facsimile.Accordingly, a body part is printed (#8). Thereby, a user can recognizethat there is received such kind of e-mail, despite a not-printing modesetting for a body part of an e-mail. Especially in case the e-mail isan error mail, a user can understand a facsimile communication which hehas transmitted is undelivered. And the processing terminates.

All of the processing in FIG. 6 thus completes. In case a plurality ofe-mails is received, the same processing is applied to each e-mail.

In flow chart of FIG. 6, processing is carried out in the followingorder: firstly judge whether a mode is set to print a body part of ane-mail or not (#2); and secondly judge whether a received e-mail isaccompanied by a predetermined format of attached file or not (#3).However, the processing order can be reversed. A flow chart of reversedorder is shown in FIG. 7.

In this case, when “Yes” (received) judgment is made in #1, there ismade judgment on whether a received e-mail is accompanied by an attachedfile in predetermined format or not (#12), firstly. In case there is anattached file (#12: Yes), there is next made judgment on whether a modeis set to print a body part or not (#13). In case a mode is set to printa body part (#13: Yes), a body part is printed (#4), an image of anattached file is opened (#6), and the opened image is printed (#7). Incase a mode is set not to print a body part (#13: No), an image of anattached file is opened (#6), and the opened image is printed (#7). Incase a received e-mail is not accompanied by an attached file inpredetermined format (#12: No), a body part is printed (#8) withoutjudging of “printing” mode/“not-printing” mode. Thereby, similar to thecase of flow chart in FIG. 6, a user can recognize that there isreceived such kind of e-mail, even though a mode is set not to print abody part of an e-mail.

As explained above in detail, in the facsimile device according to thisembodiment, when an e-mail is received, there is made judgment onwhether a received e-mail is accompanied by an attached file inpredetermined format, or not (#3, #5, #12). In case an attached file inpredetermined format does not accompany (#5: No, #12: No), regardless of“printing”/“not-printing” mode setting, a body part of an e-mail isprinted (#8). Therefore, even though a mode is set not to print a bodypart, this manner of processing can make a user recognize that there isreceived an e-mail which is not accompanied by an attached file inpredetermined format, such as error mail, or the like. In addition, thisprocessing can make a user recognize a content of a body part of thereceived e-mail.

Consequently, in case an e-mail transmitted as a facsimile communicationis undelivered for some reason, a sender can recognize the fact andrough cause of failure. On the other hand, even if a mode is set not toprint a body part, a sender can recognize failure and rough cause of it.Thereby, there can be avoided wasting unnecessary paper for printing abody part, when receiving a normal facsimile communication. Further,even if an e-mail transmitted as a facsimile communication is not saved,a sender can recognize failure and rough cause of it. Therefore, thereis no problem, even if an error mail is received after a correspondingtransmitted e-mail is deleted. Hence, it is not necessary to store atransmitted e-mail for a long time. Therefore, the facsimile device ofthis embodiment does not need an excessive memory volume.

The above described embodiments are provided as mere examples, and donot mean that the present invention is limited. Of course, variousmodifications and/or variations can occur without departing from thegist of the invention. For example, in the facsimile device according tothis embodiment, receipt of an e-mail is performed in personal computersystem, i.e., the facsimile device itself gets access to a mail serverto receive an e-mail. However, without being limited thereto, thefacsimile device can apply portable terminal system in which a mailserver transfers an e-mail to a portable terminal and a bell rings whenan e-mail reaches the portable terminal. In addition, the facsimiledevice can be compatible with a normal facsimile exchange via telephoneline, other than Internet facsimile. In addition, not restricted tofacsimile function, the facsimile device can be compatible with normale-mail exchange. In this case, a mode can be set to print the contentsin case there is received an attached file in a format other than theabove-mentioned predetermined format. In addition, the facsimile devicecan be designed such that a user cannot set to print a body part. Inother words, the facsimile device can be fixedly set “not-printing” on adisplay of FIG. 5. In addition, it is not indispensable to immediatelyprint a body part of an e-mail and a content of an attached file.

As obvious from the above explanation, according to the presentinvention, there are realized a facsimile device and a facsimileprinting program that surely make a user recognize the receipt, in caseit receives an irregular e-mail such as an error mail or the like,without requiring an extra memory, preventing waste of paper.

1. A facsimile device, comprising: an e-mail transmitting unit thattransmits an e-mail to a destination address; an e-mail receiving unitthat receives an e-mail, having a body part, addressed to an e-mailaccount allocated to the facsimile device; an attached-filediscriminating unit that determines whether the e-mail that the e-mailreceiving unit has received is accompanied by an attached file; an errormail discriminating unit that determines that the e-mail received by thee-mail receiving unit is an error mail which notifies that the e-mailtransmitted by the e-mail transmitting unit is undelivered when thereceived e-mail is not accompanied by the attached file; and a printdetermining unit that orders printing of the body part of the e-maildetermined as the error mail.
 2. A facsimile device according to claim1, wherein the attached-file discriminating unit determines that thee-mail is accompanied by the attached file only when the e-mail that thee-mail receiving unit has received is accompanied by the attached fileof a predetermined facsimile document format.
 3. A program product forfacsimile printing installed on a computer of a facsimile device thatreceives an e-mail, having a body part, addressed to an e-mail accountallocated to the facsimile device, the program product comprising: acomputer readable medium; and a computer program stored on the computerreadable medium, the computer program causing the computer to: determinewhether the e-mail that the facsimile device has received is accompaniedby an attached file; determine that the e-mail received by the facsimiledevice is an error mail which notifies that an e-mail previouslytransmitted by the facsimile device is undelivered when the e-mail isnot accompanied by the attached file; and order printing of the bodypart of the e-mail when the e-mail is determined as the error mail.
 4. Aprogram product for facsimile printing according to claim 3, whereinonly the e-mail that is accompanied by the attached file of apredetermined facsimile document format is determined as the e-mailaccompanied by the attached file.